| Chromosomes | 14 14+8B (2x). - Europe (N, C), Canada, U.S.A. (NE), Greenland. - Numerous reports for "borealis", "groenlandicus", and "minor".
Witsch (1950) stated B-chromosomes to be a constant part of the genome of Rhinanthus (as Alectorolophus). The many reports of 2n = 22 then represent a set with 2n = 14 plus 8 B-chromosomes. Whether the northwestern North American plants reported with 2n = 14 represent plants without B-chromosomes, or plants where the B-chromosomes have not been counted, is not known. Taylor and Mulligan (1968), however, stated regular meiosis without B-chromosomes in 2n = 14 "borealis" from British Columbia. If so, the absence of B-chromosomes is a difference of Pacific vs. Atlantic (European) plants. |